Philiana decided to fight, seeing their comrades fall one after another. Hiroaki’s gaze met the ogre’s. It was definitely his turn next.
“Hey, Philiana,”
“Hiro-san!”
Just as he was about to turn his head, Gadou, who had been far away, was suddenly right in front of him. Faster than any punch, a shockwave was crushing his chest and abdomen. He could only watch as his body contorted bizarrely under an invisible force.
It felt slow, despite being unimaginably fast. Was this what Veronica called “Stare”?
A creaking sound echoed directly through his eardrums, as if it were coming from his very flesh. He thought, “Ah, I’m dead,” in a corner of his mind, somehow detached from reality.
He was about to be blown away. Time suddenly snapped into motion, like a bubble popping.
“—Gofuhh—”
He felt his stomach acid surge back up, his lungs collapsing. Simultaneously, he felt a wall against his back, and the impact reverberated. He was being pushed, then pulled up.
Someone was pushing back from behind him. That sense of stability was Philiana. I made it in time, then it’s too early to lose consciousness.
He clenched his jaw tightly and held his breath. Still pulled back with momentum, he thrust his dagger into Gadou’s chest.
It was hard! It was like there was concrete inside, a wall of condensed muscle that immediately tried to shove the invading blade back.
Ah, my consciousness… I thought my heart had stopped from the sheer impact. The strength left my fingertips. A rough, hot hand gripped mine painfully from above, preventing me from letting go.
Then, with a powerful pull, the dagger was pushed in and violently withdrawn sideways.
He saw a red line of blood draw a streak through the air.
“…san, Hiro-san, keep it together!”
A sharp slap to his cheek forcibly pulled him back to consciousness.
“Ugh, Goho, Ittsutsu!”
The pain, which had been fading, now assaulted him like a tsunami. He couldn’t breathe; his ribs might be broken. He shook his head, trying to clear his blurry vision.
What happened to Gadou? Blood dripped intermittently onto the ground. He clutched the fresh wound, breathing in ragged gasps.
“Guh, Guuuh—”
He glared at Hiroaki with bloodshot eyes, letting out a pained groan.
“Hiro-san, stay back. Once the enemy’s speed drops, I’ll finish him off.”
“Y-you would do that…”
He couldn’t speak. The pain was so intense that he almost collapsed onto the searing ground. Philiana drew her sword and lunged. He decided to leave it to her; he couldn’t finish it anyway.
“Ah!!”
Philiana’s voice rang out, and when Hiroaki looked up, Gadou was looming over him. Huh? Why?
A drop of blood trickled down his cheek, confirming that this sight was real. At the same time, he fleetingly realized he was about to be killed. Right, he had come to kill me last.
But he didn’t have the strength left to stand and run. He felt an unusual heat radiating from Gadou’s entire body. He sensed this was his demonic power, his life energy.
“You’re going to waste my efforts? Brother, you’re so coldhearted.”
Perhaps because he was close to death, he thought he heard Karubene’s voice. Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll meet again somewhere in hell. But not now.
Still kneeling, he twisted his dagger into Gadou’s leg. It was where Karubene had stabbed him with his broken horn. He was so focused on the hole in his heart that he hadn’t sealed this wound.
“Ngg—!!”
Gadou’s movement stopped for a moment. Then, a gust of wind swept through. Gadou’s side was gouged open, and blood splattered onto Hiroaki’s face.
But even after taking that blow, Gadou’s fist didn’t stop. No matter what pain he felt, he was determined to kill Hiroaki.
I’m going to be crushed! Just then, someone grabbed his collar and roughly threw him. The ground where he had been lying shattered, and flames erupted like an overturned inferno from the impact.
“That was close. You’ll die if you dawdle.”
“Owh… Nina, thank you.”
A fierce, red ogre face peered out from the scattering embers. Despite being covered in wounds, it was still standing.
“Hey, isn’t this bad? They might have noticed us.”
Nina pointed in a direction where several demons were looking their way. Creatures that looked like golems made of magma, carrying stone hatchets, were approaching.
“Damn it!”
He forced his muscles, which were screaming their limits, to move and got to his feet. His joints creaked, and his chest ached with every breath.
“We need to finish this quickly.”
Gadou stared at him with burning eyes, but remained motionless.
“Goh, gofuh, bubuh.”
Foam mixed with blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. He was trying to breathe, but his lungs must have been punctured by the previous attack, as air leaked out with a bubbling sound.
“ Vuh, Guh…”
Suddenly, he crouched down. He clenched both fists by his sides. Ah, this is bad. By the time Hiroaki’s eyes processed the information, Gadou was already two steps ahead.
